Do shift work and keto mix? - Help!

(Ella) #1

Hi there!

I’m wondering if someone out there can help me out, and I’ll apologise now because this will be a long one! I am currently a shift worker at the airport (I work 12hr shifts - 2 days, 2 nights and then 4 days off), I have been eating keto for 2 months now and I haven’t seen much of drop in weight. Over two months I have lost around 3kg and especially in the last two weeks I cannot seem to budge from my current weight. I’m 27yrs old, female, 5’5" and weigh approximately 83kg currently.

I work out hard at the gym and with a personal trainer 4 times a week (it just doesn’t work for me to work out during the days I have to actually be on shift at work) for about 40-60mins per session. I count calories (1500 and carbs 20g-25g) religiously and I have been in ketosis (reading moderate on the urine indicators) for about 4-5 weeks. I find that I’m often over in my protein allocation for the day (the app I have recommends I eat 59g of protein a day but I tend to eat more like 140g of protein - could this be my problem?) and often fast quiet naturally on my days off.

When I work my day shifts, I have 2 cups of instant coffee with a dash of milk each and 2 boiled eggs for breakfast. For lunch I will eat some sort of keto recipe I have found, mostly red meat with cheesy broccoli and cauliflower and for dinner I will eat a similar variation of lunch (sometimes salmon with avocado sauce and lower cab veggies, for example). I don’t usually snack, but if I do it’s on cheese, cold cuts or sometimes almonds I have roasted myself. My day starts at 350am and finishes at about 9pm and I have not been snacking after dinner almost at all.

When I work night shifts, things get a little disordered. I sleep late, each ‘brunch’ at around 1130-12ish which consists of 1 instant coffee, 2 fried eggs and 2 pieces of bacon. I might have a snack of cheese or salami as soon as I get to work at 430pm to tie me over until dinner at 8-9pm which usually consists again of some variation of meat with vegetables cooked in olive oil or butter.

My days off are when I feel the best! (don’t we all??) I wake up around 930am, have an instant coffee, hit the gym around midday, eat my eggs and bacon and have another coffee around 2ish (sometimes later) eat dinner (some sort of variation of the above dinners/lunches) and go to bed. I have around 7-8hrs of sleep on my days off and before my night shifts for sure, but maybe only around 4-5hrs before my day shifts.

I have been eating out a lot at dinner time for the last 2 weeks (my boyfriend and I have been redoing our house so our kitchen has been difficult to access) and I have allowed myself a glass of red wine maybe once a week. However I have still stuck to strict keto meals when eating out (steak and veggies, fish and salad etc) I’ve struggled with weight issues all my life and this lifestyle has been the only thing that has made me feel like I’m not depriving or killing myself over. I have noticed non-scale related improvements such as clearer focus, better mood, my pants seem slightly looser (but I’m somewhat convinced that may be just in my head). I really want to make this work by making sure I’m on the right track and doing everything in my power to keep to this lifestyle.

Again apologies for the length of this post! I’m sure I just need to KCKO but not seeing progress is so disheartening!!

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #2

I definitely think you are eating too much protein.
Have you calculated your macros?

The ketostix are measuring the ketones your body is excreting through urine, not the level of ketosis your body is actually in.

When we eat, our body derives energy from three main sources. Glucose/Carbohydrates, Fat and Protein. Only two of these are stored for later use, glucose and fat - the body can’t store protein, so excess protein that can’t be stored right away is converted to Glucose. Glucose is stored in the liver as glycogen, but the liver’s capacity for storing glycogen is limited. Once glycogen stores are full, excess calories must be stored as body fat. Dietary fat is absorbed directly in the bloodstream without passing through the liver, and what’s not used is stored as body fat.

(Danielle) #3

Greetings fellow shift worker - I also work two day shifts followed by two night shifts, so I feel your pain!

I have been keto for about six months, and I have just hit the 60 pounds lost milestone.

There are people on this forum who will give you far better advice than I will regarding the foods you are eating and where you might be exceeding or deficient in certain areas. I would suggest that you are perhaps not eating enough, but I will let others “weigh in” (pun intended) on that one!

I will simply share a couple of shift worker tips that have worked for me.

First think about your day in 24 hour blocks, rather than in mealtimes. So even if I’m on night shift, my carbs for the day reset at midnight.

I use an app to keep track of what I am eating (the one I use is simply called CarbManager). For the most part, my main goal is to keep my carbs under 20g per 24 hour period. If I do that, I find that my calories, fat, and protein tend to fall more or less in line. The app tracks them too, but the amount of carbs is what I put the most emphasis in tracking.

I also find that night shifts provide a great opportunity for intermittent fasting. I eat my dinner at the start of my night shifts, usually about 7PM. I make sure it’s a good, filling meal. I have another snack at about 11PM. After that, I usually don’t eat again until about noon the next day - after I have gone home and slept after my shift. Hey presto! Twelve hours of fasting!

Having said that, one thing I noticed is that there’s a pretty big gap between your brunch at 1130-12 and your dinner at 8-9pm. This might be where you can add some extra calories, if in fact the general opinion if that you’re not eating enough. In spite of the opportunity for fasting I mentioned before, one of the best tips I can give is AVOID HUNGER. Hunger leads to cravings and falling off the wagon. Don’t wait until you’re starving to eat something. Drink lots of water. This is not only healthy, but helps fill you up.

Don’t be afraid to eat, as long as it’s low carb. Perhaps a small meal rather than a snack before you go to work? One of the things I found hard to wrap my head around when I first started was not only the idea of eating fat and losing weight, but eating when I wanted to, as long as it’s low carb. So many diets I tried before limited not only the amount you could eat, but the number of times you could eat. You don’t necessarily have to do that to be successful with keto.

Good luck!

(Ella) #4

Thank you so much for your response! I have calculated my macros but I’ve had so much conflicting information I’ve just felt so confused by it all! So I’ve ended up just sticking to what my app has told me to eat. 59g of protein a day is pretty much undo-able for me. From the few macro calculators I’ve used, it seems like the median amount of protein I should be eating is around 120g per day? Does that sound a little more correct?

Is the only way to test the level of ketosis my body is in through a blood test? With the ketostix only measuring the amount of ketones I’m excreting through urine, does this mean I am not actually in ketosis? Sorry for the newbie questions D:

(Ella) #5

Firstly, thank you for your response and congratulations oh your achievements, despite the challenges of a shift work lifestyle!

I have definitely been enjoying the accidental intermittent fasting and I’m really not hungry on night shift after I eat dinner. I do eat two boiled eggs at around 345am before the end of my shift so that I have something in my stomach and I’m not ravenously hungry when I wake up. Do you have any suggestions on types of snacks or even small meals? I’ve been eating mostly cheese and some cold cuts (which is probably the reason for my increase in protein?) for snacks and I’ve also tried Pork Krackle which I actually really like, but the old school dieter in me continuously tells me it’s a ‘bad’ food choice!

I definitely drink 2-3 liters of water a day and definitely more than that on the days I work out. I’ve increased my coffee intake to get through my 12hr shifts (usually black with a dash of milk or almond milk lattes - I just can’t get on board with the black coffee with butter in it!) which has also helped with hunger. I just wasn’t sure if my lack of sleep on some days during my week could be seriously hindering my progress? So far this lifestyle really works in well, I just want to be making the best choices possible. Thanks so much again for your advice!!

(Wendy) #6

Not getting enough sleep is unfortunately a huge stumbling block with shift work. It affects insulin and cortisol and so many things. But I bet eating keto healthy foods is very helpful for you.
I learned more than I wanted to know from the book Why We Sleep. I don’t remember the author.
It made me realize I need to prioritize sleep if I wanted to live well.

(Ella) #7

I will definitely check that book out, thank you! I absolutely have found it easier to sleep since going keto and I stay asleep for longer periods of time. I’m definitely seeing other health benefits of this lifestyle change, but sleep deprivation twice a week is something I will have to manage as best as I can!

(J) #8

As a former shift worker, I feel your pain. As someone else mentioned, elevation of cortisol from altered sleep rhythms is killer for our metabolisms. Probably the best you can do is something similar to Danielle’s post. I had been off of shift work for over a year before starting lchf, but I know my metabolic state was a mess from the overnights. When I started having vasovagal (fainting) episodes while delivering babies at 3am, I knew it was finally time to get out. :frowning:

(Kilian) #9

For me it didnt. I have to stop until i get a new job, which will be soon - hopefully. Unfortunately the status of Gabaergics is still unclear. Since i read first about it here, im waiting for it to get proper resarch. But big pharma seems to have no interest in it, as they dont own those subtances.